Stop Running
by Sofia DragonEgg
Summary: Andre is in love with Jade and goes to Tori to help him control his feelings for her. But what happens when Andre makes a mistake with Tori? Who will he turn to and what will he reveal? Please be nice, this is my FanFic. Uh, lets just say T but I have no idea what that is...
1. Stop Running

What Did I Just Do?!

I walked into Tori's house and sat down on the conch, rubbing my hands through my hair. I hadn't slept in three nights and sleep was catching up to me. Kind of hard to sleep when you have a guilty conscience for being in love with your best friends' girlfriend. Just as I was about to curl up on Tori's conch and catch a few minutes of sleep, Tori came down the stairs. At first I was relieved to hear her. Then… yeah, um, then things got weird.

So Tori comes down the stairs dressed like Jade and starts yelling, asking what I'm doing in her house. The first thought that enters my head is, God she looks just like Jade. A little too much. I wonder if kissing her will be the same as kissing Jade. I immediately shake my head and scold myself for thinking such thoughts. Then I turn my attention back to Tori, who's waving an orange slip of paper in my face.

I'm trying to help you see why you wouldn't want to be in a relationship with a girl like Jade.

After bickering with her about how stupid this is, I finally give in and play along with her little game. But the further it goes on, the more I keep slipping up and mistaking Tori for Jade. Twice, I almost called her Jade, but I caught myself just in time. Eventually, I walk to the conch and rub my temples, thinking I can't go on much longer. But then, Tori tells me that if Jade and I ever went out, she'd be way meaner to me. Part of me knows this true. But another part tells me that I should just go for it.

But then I realize how good Tori looks dressed like Jade. And it's like I'm back at school that night with Jade. Tori's gone. And I hear her sweet angelic voice is ringing in my ears. I stop thinking about Beck. About how this will affect our relationship. And his relationship with Jade. I only think of me and Jade. And then I start to lean.

"Wait, what are you doing?"

I hear Jade say, but I ignore her. She pulls away and I go closer until our lips meet. I can feel her sweet lips against mine and I smile to myself. But then she pulls away and stares at me in disbelief, shock, maybe even a little fear.

"I know, I know" I say. "I'm a jerk." Then I laugh a little. "Didn't think I was capable of going behind Beck's back like that, did ya?"

"A-Andre" she begins, but I put my finger on her lip.

"Quiet, Jade baby. I won't do nothing else. All I want now is for us to go to your house and"

"Andre" Jade screams. "It's me! Tori!"

I laugh again. "Baby, what are you talking…" I trail off. I stare at Jade and suddenly my vision goes blurry. Jade undergoes a transformation. She still has the same clothes, but Tori's face. Horror comes onto my face as I realize what I've done. Or more like what I almost did. My mind is screaming, Oh God, what did I just do?!

I jump off her conch and stare back at her, like I'm really looking at a ghost. She's got this confused look on her face and reaches out to me. But I pull away and begin to walk away. Almost as if I'm afraid of her. I shake my head and take my head in my hands.

"Stay away from me" I whisper.

"But, Andre" Tori says.

"I-I need to go. Later Tori" I stutter.

"Andre" she screams as I stagger out the door.

I trip down the hill that tori's house sits down, but I don't even care. I just pick myself up and walk down the last few steps and to the streets. By this time at night, everyone's at home, sleeping. Everyone but me, I think to myself. I look up at the houses around me and realize that I've been walking in a circle. I notice that everything is getting fuzzy and my head feels like it's been stuffed with cotton candy.

Somehow, I make it to my house without fainting. When I come in, my mother starts pestering me about being out so late and such. But then she notices the sick and alarmed look on my face and takes a step back. I groan and lean all of my weight onto the wall beside me. The room spins for a minute but I shake the feeling away. I again see my mother staring at me.

"Andre, honey, what's wrong", she asks me. But she doesn't wait for me to answer. She calls my father and he orders me to bed.

"Dad, I fine" I say trying to walk away, but I stagger a bit and fall to my knees.

They're voices become distant but the worry on their faces was quite clear. I mumbled something that even I didn't understand. I was then faced with a face full of darkness.


	2. Why Does He Keep Running?

When I woke up, I was in my room and it was morning. I thought to myself, what happened. I tried to sit up on my bed but that shot pains right up my back, so I lay back down. Looking down at my phone, I saw five missing phone calls and three texts from Tori. I vaguely wondered what Tori was bugging about to have called me five times at three am then text me three times at three thirty am. And why hadn't I been awake to answer them?

Then last night came flooding back to me. Tori dressed like Jade. Me acting wonky. The kiss that I almost shared with Jade. I groaned and forced myself to my legs, ignoring the sharp pains, and started pacing. Alright, I thought. There's a good chance Tori hates you now. But there's an even bigger chance that she still wants to help me.

I look to my phone again and read the texts and listen to the voicemails:

_Andre we need to talk._

_This is serious Andre._

_I'm not playing._

"_Andre, this is Tori… I know you don't wanna, but we need to talk about this…k bye."_

"_Stop ignoring me."_

"_I know you're not sleeping."_

"_Answer the phone!"_

"_If you're not gonna talk to me the least you could do is let me know you're okay."_

I frowned at her last voicemail. How could I let her know that I'm okay when I'm obviously not? In the past week, I've developed a crush on my best friend's girlfriend, dragged my best friend into this, and then confused the both of us her by kissing her. No doubt about it that she's just as confused as me now, if not more. So I do the only thing I could do.

_I'm not okay._

Her reply is almost immediate:

_Oh, Andre…_

Sighing, I walked to the door with wobbly legs and down the stairs. When I get to the living room, I see my mother, my dad, and my little sister, Kylee. My mom looks like she hadn't slept all night. And my father looks ten times worse. Kylee just looks like she just had a sugar crash and is passed out on the kitchen table, a doughnut in her mouth. If I weren't so jazzed up, I would've laughed up until I cried. But at the moment, two pairs of worried eyes were boring into me.

"Andre" my mother began. "You, uh, wanna explain what happened last night?"

"You know what, I rather not" I mumbled, slightly confused about what just happened last night.

"Andre" my father warned.

"Seriously, I was probably just a little tired."

"Probably? People who are tired, don't 'probably' wander home at two in the morning and pass out on the floor" he said.

"What are you talking about" I mumble. Parts of last nights were still coming back to me and the most I could remember was stumbling out of Tori's house pretty late.

"Son, you do realize what you did last night made us nearly call the cops right" my mother asked.

"What did I do?" I take my head in my hands and I wonder, did I miss anything else last night?

"Andre, what happened last night?"

"I don't know! I went to Tori's house and some…uh… some stuff… happened and then I left and the next thing I know, I'm in bed!" I stumble backwards and bump into a vase, causing it to fall. The anger instantly leaves their faces and they try to come to me but I keep backing away, afraid again. I mumble "I'm fine, just fine!" and run out the door.


	3. They're Running

I walked down the street with more control of myself than I had before. Now that I had a fully updated memory I could think straight. I told myself to take things slow and tried to go over all of the events that happened to me in the last twenty four hours:

I was bugging about Jade.

Tori texted me and told me to come to her house.

I tried to get my bearings straight when she came, dressed like Jade.

I went overboard and kissed Tori, thinking she was jade.

I ran out of her house and wondered around for a while.

I went home and fainted, apparently.

Then I woke up and found Tori had tried to reach me.

I found my parents really worried and they screamed at me for a bit.

Then I freaked out and ran out the house.

Now I'm running around again, with this lost little puppy dog look on my face.

"Hi!" a voice interrupted my thoughts.

I didn't stop fast enough though and slammed right into the person. We both crashed into each other and fell onto the ground. I rubbed my bruised hip and moaned. I had fell right on a sharp rock and scrapped my elbow. Little trickles of blood were dripping onto the ground. I was mad for a second but then gave the person a slight smile. It was hard to get mad at the little redhead.

"Hey, Cat" I mumbled, getting to my feet. Then I turned to Cat. She had fell in a mud puddle and was laughing.

"Oh, thanks, Andre" she said, after I helped her up. "Oh, look at me. I'm all covered in mud! Ah ha ha ha. Like a little dog."

"Yeah" I mumbled. Instantly, her smile disappeared.

"You look down" she said. "Is everything okay?"

I sighed and looked up at her. Could I really trust her? Who else would I turn to? Beck and Jade were the reason I was acting like this, Tori was at this point not even an option, and Robbie was well… Robbie. Taking a deep breath, I told Cat "it's a long story."

"That's okay. I love long stories."

"Cat" I whispered, looking deep into her eyes. "Can I trust you?"

She looked very confused but nodded her head. "Who I'm gonna tell? No one believes a thing I say."

"Well, okay then… you, um, you know Jade right?"

"Of course" she said. "She's one of my best friends."

"Well, a couple nights ago, I asked her to sing a song for me. And well, um, she said yes…"

"Yay."

"But then I heard her singing and I-I fell in love with her"

Cat gave a little gasp but nodded, as if to say continue.

"So I asked Tori if she could help me and all week she's been trying to help me get over my crush with Jade. But last night… last night Tori dressed up like Jade so I could see why I wouldn't want to be in a relationship with her."

"One time, my brother dressed up like a cop."

I stared at Cat and gave her a smile.

"He got arrested. Go on."

"Well, um, then I started seeing Jade, not Tori. And all I could think of was kissing Jade and so I did. Or I thought I did. When I realized what I did, I ran and ran until I got home. Then I fainted and when I woke up my parents were asking me too many questions so I ran again and I ended up here."

Cat cocked an eyebrow and I scoffed. "You probably think I'm crazy."

"No. I just wanna know what're you gonna do now?"

I was silent for a second and stared at the girl before me. Always confused. Always ditzy. Always… wonky. Like me! I looked at my phone and saw Tori and my parents had called me multiple times. But I ignore this and faced Cat again.  
"Cat" I said, holding her hands. "Will you run with me?"

"Run where" she asked.

"Anywhere."

She smiled and said "okay."

I looked around and held her hand tighter. Then we both ran. Together.


	4. Can We Run Somewhere Else?

Cat and I spent the rest of the day together, running, laughing, talking, and sipping on sodas. I never really realized just how fun Cat could be. Even if she was a little… off. She was sweet like candy and nice. I couldn't help but think this and when I told her she squealed in delight. People all around looked at us and I immediately ran faster, to which Cat also did.

"Andre" she said. "You're so nice and funny."

"Gee, thanks" I mumble. Nice friends don't love their best friend's girlfriend. I look to her and notice her frowning and I wonder did she catch my tone?

"What's wrong" I ask.

"Nothing. It's just so boring running in circles" she whines.

"What, you wanna stop running" I ask, sad that she was leaving. Why was I sad?

"No. But can we please run somewhere else? I don't like running through the streets."

"Okay" I say relieved. "Where do you wanna run?"

She smiles and I notice a sparkle in her eyes. "Pearl Beach."

"Pearl Beach? No one goes there, there's nothing to do."

"Exactly. It can just be the two of us. No one else to bother us. I know you don't want to be bothered right now."

A thought comes to mind and before I even know what I'm doing, I say "I don't mind being bothered by you" and blush.

"You don't" she squeals. "Aw, that's nice. I don't mind bothered by you either!" But I guess she heard herself and blushed harder than me. "Wow, that sounds weirder than I thought! Alright, come on!"

And then she took off running. I wasn't even aware that she run that fast. But she turned around and yelled, "come on! They stop letting people in PB in fifteen!" So I shrugged and ran too. I couldn't catch up to her so when I asked "hey Pearl Beach is that way" she must not have heard me. When we stopped at a pink house I took a wild guess and figured it was her house. Apparently it was, cause she ran right into the door.

She came out about five seconds later with a pink(of course) bag. She yelled inside and said "ma, I'll be out with Andre tonight. Be back tomorrow." A voice then said "Kay, have fun!" and another voice said "But not too much fun!" This time I blushed and looked down at my feet, but Cat just rolled her eyes and grabbed my hands.

In her driveway, there was a little ladybug pink bike with streamers, a horn, and a helmet. I cocked an eyebrow, but she dragged me again. She squealed and got on her bike.

"Well, whattaya waiting for" she asked, strapping her helmet on.

"Huh?" I asked, very confused.

"Get on my bike."

"Cat, I can't get on that bike."

"Why not? You can hold me around the waist so you don't fall."

"What, no" I said, my face on fire. "It's kinda girly."

"Oh" she said, rolling her eyes. Then she went around the corner of her garage and came back with a blue bike. I didn't like it but it was better than riding around on a pink ladybug bike. So I shrugged and hopped on.

"And who's bike is this" I asked, rolling out of her driveway.

"Well I dunno, but a couple months ago, my brother came home and said he found this weird boy in our driveway and he started 'sassing' him so he threw him over our fence and stole his bike."

"Uh…"

"Ooh, we're at the hill before the beach. Wee!"

As we sped down the hill, Cat's red velvet hair flew behind her. She was laughing but had her eyes closed. All the way down she was screaming, "wee!" and I wondered if she ever dealt with problems like mine. Did she ever have a crush on Beck, her best friend's boyfriend? Did she kiss her other best friend to get over the crush? Did she become friends with Robbie 'cause he was the only one that listened? You never can tell how a person feels just by looking at 'em…


	5. Are We Done Running?

When we arrived at Pearl Beach, they were just closing up. Cat snatched my hand(damn that girl had a good grip) and we hid in some bushes while the guards made sure no one was around. During this time, Cat and I made smart remarks about them. We could barely contain our laughter and when we were sure they were gone we laughed for fifteen minutes. Then Cat got to her feet and ran out in the sand until she was at least fifteen feet away from the water.

"This is going to be the best night ever" she said, putting an orange blanket on the ground. Then she proceeded to turn this empty beach into a mini party: she pulled drinks, chips, dip, cookies, burritos, pizza, candy, and all sorts of stuff out of her pink bag. When she pulled out her PearPhone and turned on her play list, I got to my feet and started dancing.

"Andre, what are you doing" she said, gigging.

"Well, I call this" I said. "The Funky Chicken. Come on, now, baby dance with me!" A lot of people(including me) have wondered why Cat is always so… hyper. But after eating all of that junk, I felt just as hyper as she was on a normal day, if not more!

"I'm so happy! Let's have a dance party" I cried. Then I took Cat in my arms and we danced to a dance that had no particular objective. We just moved to the beat. Then a slow song came on.

"Hey, I love this song" she said. Then she started twirling and soon she was in the water.

"Well, then, dance with me" I said shyly, after joining her.

"Oh, I, um, I can't dance." She looked away from me and I decided to cheer her up.

"Well, then what was that back there" I joked.

"No I mean real dancing" she said quietly. "My brother used to show me, but he's pretty weird now and I have no one to teach me."

I held my breath and said very quickly "am I too weird to show you?"

Cat shook her head as if to say no and I smiled.

"It's actually pretty easy. You just take you partners hands" I say, her soft hands in my own. "And follow them." She looks into my eyes and I blush again. Why do I keep blushing?

"Well that's easy for you to say" as I twist her around. "You're used to dancing with girls."

"So" I say.

"So, a lot of girls ask you out and you take them out to places, probably, and dance with 'em."

"Guys don't ask you?"

"No, they all think I'm some weird kind of freak" she says, suddenly angry and I'm taken aback. I've never seen Cat angry before. Come to think of it, I've seen a lot of sides of Cat that I never knew existed.

"I don't think you're weird." And I mean it. She's not normal but who is. And besides, normal's boring.

She looks up to me and I look into her eyes. So big and brown and full of hope. The setting sun makes me realize her other features. Her sweet hair, her nice eyebrows, the way she carries herself. And the dress she's wearing. It's yellow and has white and red flowers along the edges. And then I realize something. I don't love Jade. I don't love Tori. I don't love anyone…but Cat.

"Do you like me, Cat" I whisper.

"Of course, Andre" she replies.

"No. I mean like, like. Like a…boyfriend." I know it sounds lame but I can't even bring myself to say the "l" word.

She's silent for a moment and I'm worried that I'm losing yet another friend. I feel my heart break and pull away. But she pulls me back and looks me in the eye.

"I always have, Andre" she says. "I always have." She pulls me in for a kiss and I don't reject. I don't feel wrong. Cat doesn't have a boyfriend who just so happens to be my best friend. I smile and we both fall into the water, laughing and kissing and choking all at the same time.

"So" Cat says. "Are we done running?"

"Do you wanna stop?"

"No" she says and we kiss again. Her playlist ends then.


	6. You've Gotta Stop Running

I woke up to a rough breeze. Looking up, I saw I was still at Pearl Beach. Turning to my side I saw Cat snuggled up against me in my arms. So peaceful looking. And for the second time, I had no idea what happened the night before. How did I end up sleeping on a beach with Cat and a bunch of junk food all over me? But then I smiled, as our kiss came to mind. It would take me a while to remember ALL of what happened but I was happy to know that I had fallen in love with Cat last night.

I looked up and saw the sun rising. Who would've thought that a week that started out so terrible, would end to be the best I've ever had? It was comforting and I found myself entranced with its beauty. Well, _their _beauty. Meanwhile, Cat was starting to stir beside me.

"Good morning, beautiful" I said, looking into her eyes.

"Good morning…um Andre?"

"Yeah?"

"Are we like… boyfriend girlfriend now?"

I thought for a second. It's been a while since I've had a girlfriend that doesn't make me insane. And I didn't see any reason why we couldn't be. I love her and I'm pretty sure she loves me. So I smiled and said, "yeah. But don't you think I should ask you out first?"

She giggled then said, "okay!"

"Alright." I got down on one knee and looked around the orange blanket until I found what I was looking for. Then I took her hand in mine and looked into her gorgeous eyes.

"Caterina Valentine, will you rock my world and be my girl?"

"Oh, Andre! Yes, yes, yes! A million times yes." I then slipped a ring pop onto her ring finger.

I stood up and swung her around like they do in the movies. Then we kissed again and danced for a while. The girl may have said she couldn't dance but the way she was moving to the beats( she turned her playlist back on) you would've thought she was a pro if you had never known her. Sometimes we would dance on our own, showing each other our moves. But for most of the time, we were in each others arms, smiling. Then I noticed something really, really weird.

I was blushing A LOT since I started hanging out with Cat yesterday. I mean normally I'm so smooth with the ladies that THEY'RE the ones blushing. But around Cat, I can't even look her in the eye without turning into an overripe tomato. I tell myself it's cause I'm not used to Cat but I know that's not true. Even when I first meet girls, I'm usually so confident that I tell them straight off the bat that I love them. But I haven't ever said it without meaning it. And then my chest has butterflies as I come to realize why: I'm really in love with her.

If you've never been in love, you can't relate. Love is… when you want to be with a person every second of everyday. When you go to sleep with them the last thing on your mind and when you wake up, the first thing on your mind. When you would give up a leg just to get them something incredibly stupid, like a heart shaped lollipop. Or when you would give away your freedom and go to jail for them. Now that's ,that's love.

Again, if you've never experienced this, you would probably think, I would never do any of those things. Hey, I'm so crazy that I can't even look her in the eye. But when it does happen to you, I guarantee that it will be the happiest day of your life, next to your wedding day, or the day your kids were born. But who's thinking about kids and weddings? Right now, I need to work on not turning the color of a raspberry every time I see her.

"Andre" Cat says, interrupting my thoughts. I was so involved with them that I didn't even notice she had taken a seat on the ground and was looking at my phone, curiously.

"Yeah" I said, expecting the worst, like a lecture for ignoring Tori and my parents.

"Uh, Tori's calling. And she and your parents seem to be looking for you. Do they know where you are?"

"…"

"Andre?"

"Yes, Cat?"

"Do you know where you are" she repeats, her eyes filled with worry.

I sigh and mumble, "uh, no."

"Andre, look me in the eye."

"Cat I really don't-"

"I said look me in the eye" she yells.

I turn to her, having never heard her yell before. Her eyes are boring into me and I realize she only wants to help. But I know that this will only end badly. But I look her in the eye anyway and mumble, "no, Cat. They don't know where I'm at."

"Boy, don't mumble. You've never had a problem with volume before." I have to hide the smirk coming to my face. She sounds so motherly. She'd make a great mother. Wait, what did I just say?

"No, Cat. They don't know where I'm at" I say, louder.

She just nods her head, hands me my phone, and turns away from me. Then she picks up the blanket and stuffs it(and all of the stuff on the blanket in her pink bag. Then she snatches my hand and pulls me up the trail that leaves Pearl Beach. I'm so shocked by her strength that I'm silent the entire time she marches me up the trail.

When we find our bikes, I finally find my courage and ask, "where are we going" but somewhere in my head, I already know the answer to _that_ question.

"To see Tori. Then we'll go see your parents."

"What?! Why?!" I cry, my heart racing, and my head thumping.

"Well, I figured it'll be easier to talk to Tori. Then, if you can do that, it should be easier talking to your folks."

"That's actually pretty smart Cat" I say. People really don't see the real Cat a lot. "But I still don't wanna." I try to pull away, but she snatches my hand back and pushes me toward my(her brother's)bike.

"Andre" she says, strapping her helmet on. "You've gotta stop running. You've been gone for about a day now. I'm pretty sure, they're ready to file a police report and Tori probably has the whole town looking for you already." She pauses then adds, "I know I would."

She pushes her foot on the ground and turns to face me. "You coming?"

I have a mental battle with myself. Part of me wants to go with Cat. But the other wants to finish fadoodling with her for the next few weeks:

_You're a man. She's a woman. Time to show this girl that you are not a play doll!_

_But she's so pretty and sweet! And maybe she's right._

_Dude, this is Cat. The idiot girl from Sikowit's class. She swallowed Jade's key's for crying out loud!_

_Don't you even mention her name! I'm still-_

_Wonky? Maybe Jade's the girl for you._

_No, she's the girl for Beck._

_So? Maybe she won't mind sharing._

_You're freaking crazy!_

_You do realize I'm you. So technically we're crazy._

_I am not crazy._

_Says the guy fighting with himself._

"Andre" Cat says, as I'm about to give myself a beating. "You coming?"

_No._

"Yes."

_Weak. _

_Oh, shut up._

_People pleaser._

_I am not._

_Mm hm._

The ride to Tori's house is quiet, if you don't count me arguing with myself. Mainly because I was nervous about seeing Tori after(what was it now) two days. As long as I've known her, I've never not seen Tori for a whole two days. And what if she hates me? I mean I did kiss her and I'm pretty sure she doesn't like, like me. I'm still wrapped in my thoughts when we pull up at the hill that I fell down two nights ago.

Cat places a hand on mine and looks at me with those gorgeous brown eyes. "You ready for this" she asks. That little voice in my head is screaming no. But I say, "yes." We park our bikes on the curb and walk up the steps together, hand in hand.


	7. Jade West

As Tori opened the door, I braced myself for a bunch of angry and unladylike words. But Tori didn't do any of that. She just took me in her arms. You'd think that as much as we hug this would have surprised me. But it did and I didn't hug back. Maybe it was because I was going out with Cat now and I didn't want to upset her. But when I turned to face her, she was busy chasing a butterfly.

"Cat, Tori and I are gonna go have a little talk. You gonna e okay" I asked.

"Yeah, baby, I've got Mr. Butterfly to keep me company."

Tori opened the door and I walked in. The A.C. was on and I felt chills run up my spine. I'd been outside for only two days, and I felt like a caveman fifteen thousand years in the future. I was tempted to ask what year it was, but that seemed to overdo it a bit. My eyes fell onto the conch, where just two nights ago, I kissed Tori. It seemed so long ago.

"'Baby'" Tori asked, interrupting my thoughts.

"Huh?" I asked.

"Cat called you baby."

"Oh, we're kind of going out now."

"Wow, a lot in two days, huh?"

"You have no idea" I said, waiting for the conversation to begin.

"About Friday" she began.

There it is, I thought as the conversation began.

You know, juts two nights ago, I kissed Tori. It seemed so long ago.

I thought to myself.

"Tori, I'm so sorry about that…kiss. I was thinking of Jade and I was her and went for it."

"Did you even think of Beck?"

"No" I said hanging my head shamefully. "But Tori I assure you, I would NEVER EVER, not in a million years kiss you."

"Excuse me" she asked, crossing her arms.

Strike one.

"Nothing, it's just I can't bring myself to kiss you. How weird would that be?"

"Excuse me?!"

Strike two.

"If I kissed you, I'd probably die of embarrassment."

"EXCUSE ME?!"

STRIKE THREE! YOU"RE OUT!

"Am I that repulsive" she said her eyes shooting daggers at me.

"What? No. Tori, you're cute and I love you to death, but you're one of my best friends. Kissing you would be like you kissing Beck."

"Don't even go there, Andre" she said. "Anyway, this is about you and-"

"I'M FINE!" I yell, storming past her.

"Obviously you're not, Andre. You need to talk to her."

"I don't need to talk to anybody!"

"Is that so" a voice says from behind me. I slowly turn around and see the girl that has managed to turn my life into a living hell in less than a week.

"Hello, Andre" Jade West says, cooly.

Shit.


	8. Happy Endings and New Beginnings

"Jade" I squeaked. "What-what are you doing here?"

"Cat tweeted that something involving me, you, and Vega was going on. Care to explain?"

"Cat can be kind of… off something" I said.

"Quit dodging the question and tell me that you love me already."

My mouth practically dropped to my feet at that. She knew?! Of course she knows, you dummy. Jade knows everything!I groaned and leaned all of my weight against the wall to my right. The room spun for a while and I swayed on my feet. I could feel the eyes of Tori and Jade on me, but I needed to clear my head first before I could even say anything. Alright, I thought to myself. It's just Jade. This was gonna come eventually. Just calm down. 1…2…3… Alright. Let's do this.

"Vega, I think Cat needs some help chasing that butterfly" Jade said, while I was still giving myself a pep talk.

"I think you're right" Tori said, as she walked out the door.

Then Jade faced me, hands on her hips. I wondered for a second how she even knew about my crush. Then again, I hadn't exactly played off my wonk very smoothly. Practically every time I saw her had me stuttering and acting nervous around her. But I didn't ask her why.

"So" I said. "What do I do?"

"What do you mean, 'What do I do'" she asked.

"I can't just hide my feelings about you, in case you haven't noticed."

"Yes, I don't know how, but you are a great and horrible actor at the same time."

I looked up from my feet, shock on my face. "You think I'm a great actor?"

She blushed(?) then stuttered(?) "well, yeah, I've always been rather fond of your acting(?)… until a couple days of ago of course."

"Wow" I said, smiling to myself. "That's ahahahaha…."

"Andre" she asked. "You okay?"

I blinked a couple of times. Then I took a deep breath and shook my head. Keep your wonk in check, Andre, I said to myself.

"Yeah, uh, just a little excited. But, seriously, what do I do. I can't forget about my feelings."

"Dude, yes you can."

"No, no I really can't. It is physically and emotionally impossible for me to keep my feelings buried deep inside of myself. If I feel something, I've gotta let it out, OR ELSE I GET WONKY IN THE HEAD!"

"Alright, alright, calm down. Wow, you're serious. Okay, I have a question for you."

"Yeah" I asked, only a little curious.

"What do you think you should do?"

"Oh, um, you wouldn't like my answer to that" I muttered, blushing.

"Come on just tell me or do I have to beat it out of you?"

"I can't really tell you. I'd have to do it and you wouldn't like it if I did do it."

"Andre, whatever this is, just get it over with. It can't be that bad."

"No, Jade, please, I-I really don't want to upset you."

"Dude, I told you, whatever it is you've gotta do, do it. And don't give me some stupid-"

Suddenly I pulled Jade in for a kiss. It was just as fiery and amazing as I thought it'd be. Jade stood and let me kiss her and I vaguely wondered why she hadn't knocked my lights out. I stroked her hair before one thought came to mind: Cat. Wasn't this like cheating? What would my grandma think? And then I thought of Beck. He loved Jade and jade loved him.

I pulled away and stared at Jade, breathless. She had a look that could only be described as shocked and confused. I shook my head and backed away from Jade thinking, not this again. I felt the room spin again and had to steady myself.

"Jade, I'm so sorry" I said, tears coming to my eyes. "I didn't think and I was a real chumbag. Oh God, what will Beck think?"

"Dude, chill" she laughed(?) "It's all good(?) Besides, Beck knows already(?!)

"Huh, that's…not as surprising as I thought it'd be" I muttered.

"I think he's actually a little jealous but he said he respects all you went through to keep our relationship intact even if it cost you your sanity."

"Wow" I said, holding my head. "As many times I've played this scene in my head, none of those times ended like this."

"Yeah, well, my work here is done. Beck!"

I froze as Beck walked in the door. His hands were jammed deep into his pockets. But his usual calm and relaxed face was gone, replaced by what looked like jealously and a hint of anger.

"I'll leave you two boys alone" Jade said walking past Beck. "Holler when things get messy."

Beck and I stared at our shoes for a while. I suddenly felt extremely guilty for kissing Jade. Did Beck see? I fought the urge to scream as I started swaying again.

"Hey, dude, are you okay" he asked me, his face suddenly concerned. But I stepped away from him and held my head in my hands.

"No" I mumbled. "I'm in love with my best friend's girlfriend and I already have a girlfriend. What kind of person does that?"

"Girlfriend?"

"Cat."

"Ah."

"…"

"Andre, don't feel bad."

"But I do Beck. And I can tell you hate me for liking her."

"Dude, I don't hate you. I'm very angry and would like to give you one, but… you're my best friend. I could never do that. And besides Jade is adorable. I'm surprised you JUST started liking her." He paused for a second, his face suddenly serious. Then he added "you did JUST start liking her right?"

"Promise."

"So… are we good?"

"Yeah. I think I still got some wonk going on up there, but it's mainly gone."

"Good."

"Good."

. . .

Later that evening, the entire gang all went to the Pearl Beach. It was pretty amazing. But nothing compared to that first night I spent with Cat, in the water, the sun over me. I still wasn't sure about my feelings for Jade. But I did know one thing: I wasn't a bad person. Bad people don't try to steal their best friend's girlfriend's. And bad people don't crush their girlfriend's hearts. So I looked Cat in the eye and smiled. She looked at me and smiled.

"I love you" I said.

"I love you too" she whispered before we kissed.

A series of groans came from our group.

"Get a room" I heard Rex say.

I just rolled my eyes and kissed Cat some more.


End file.
